My husband and I live in Scotland with our 3 (soon to be 4) year old son.
His family are in England. We have managed these past few years without family support however I have always wanted to be closer to his family so that we have more emotional and physical support. Following a trip down South he is a lot more open to the idea of moving down to be closer. Our relationship has suffered as we only work and care for our son. We are never able to do anything together, and after our holiday we have both realised just how much it affects us. We already had concerns about how we would manage our work as well as school runs as there is a lack of wrap around childcare near us.
We have a mortgage on our property, which we bought 7 years ago as our first home, so I don't really understand what goes into selling up and moving, so we plan to speak to a mortgage advisor about how this all works.
My main worry is that our son is due to start Primary school in 2025. I am also in the last year of my nursing degree, due to graduate a month before he starts school. It seems the best way to do things is to move in the Summer, once I finish my degree, however I understand I will only be able to apply for the school I want him to go to once we have an address. Does this mean that chances are he's going to just be allocated wherever has a space, as they will all mostly be full? We are going to be living with my inlaws for a short period while we find a home near them, will I be able to use their address to apply for school earlier? Ideally, I want him to stay at the school he goes to, I really don't want him to get settled and then move him again. I barely understand the system for applying to a Scottish school, let along an English school! Our son is the first born grandchild on both sides, so we haven't seen anyone go through the process before.
Funnily enough, as a child my parents did the same in reverse, moving us from Scotland to England, however I remember that we moved in the Summer and I started school after the October holidays, but I don't want him to miss out on the first term of school, as all the other children will be settled and I think he will struggle.
Has anyone gone through this process before, right before starting school? I am so nervous of the unknown that I want to get things in place, but from what I read online, it's just a case of applying when we get down there and hoping for the best?